Welcome to the only Clinical Mental Health Counseling program in the United States that is housed in a medical school.

The Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine Program is a two-year Master of Arts program accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) and designed to prepare students for independent licensure as mental health counselors. Over the course of the program, students complete academic coursework in mental health counseling and behavioral medicine, participate in a wide range of clinical training, and develop identities as clinical mental health counselors. Counselor educator faculty and staff of the program mentor students toward becoming outstanding clinicians

Our graduates have gone on to secure a wide range of positions, such as:

Trauma clinician

Member of a multiplicity treatment team in a medical setting

Consultant to individuals seeking to make health related lifestyle changes

School-based counselor for children and adolescents

Clinician in a day treatment/partial hospital program

Counselor for sexual offenders in a corrections prison system

Substance abuse counselor

Private practice clinician

Member of a clinical research team

Director of an eating disorders residential facility

Clinician in a college counseling center

Students generally complete our program in two years of full-time study, which includes a combination of academic course work and clinical experiences. Our program is committed to the core areas deemed essential in training excellent clinical mental health counselors. Students are very well trained in clinical assessment and diagnosis, theory and application, as well as modalities of care, and are exposed to a wide array of patient populations, clinical topics, and career paths. We also encourage students to identify areas of interest beyond the basic curriculum in which to pursue clinical, research, and/or course-related experience.

The inclusion of a behavioral medicine and neuroscience, and psychopharmacology within our curriculum makes us unlike any other counseling program in the country. Because we are housed in a medical school that is affiliated with an academic teaching hospital (Boston Medical Center), students are exposed to cutting-edge diagnostic and intervention procedures — all of which are integrated into class content and clinical experiences. Many of our students avail themselves of opportunities to engage in research within or outside of the greater Boston University system.

We work hard to remain connected to our alumni and facilitate connections and networking between current students and alumni through LinkedIn and in-person events. Alumni offer advice about licensure in other states, the licensing exam, and pursuing other educational opportunities. Many of our alumni are in supervisory and/or administrative positions and often hire our graduates.

The majority of our teaching faculty are active clinicians, providing them with direct, up-to-date exposure to the “real world” of clinical service, clients, psychiatric presentations, and resources available to provide ethical, competent, and effective care. Many of our teaching faculty are also actively engaged in research and contribute to the scientific understanding of a variety of issues. Collectively, our faculty create excellent learning opportunities in the classroom.

We are quite proud of our program! We hope that you will take the time to explore our website, become familiar with what we have to offer, and contact us with any questions.

Stephen Brady, Ph.D.
Director, MHCBM Program

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Prospective Student Webinars

The Spring 2016 Newsletter is here!

Click here to view the new newsletter or here to visit the Yearly Newsletter page.

Student spotlight

Student Spotlight

Congratulations to LaShay Shepard for winning the Martin and Ruth Levine Award !

Student Spotlight

Congratulations to Andrew Robinson for being recognized as an Honorable Mention for the 2016 Corey/Ivey Graduate Student Essay Competition of the American Counseling Association (ACA)!

Congratulations Peter!

Peitao “Peter” Zhu was chosen to represent at this year’s commencement, for the MHCBM graduating class of 2016. He presented his speech on Friday, May 13, at the GMS Graduation Ceremony in Metcalf Hall, at the George Sherman Union.

Meet Our Students

Former students, Michael and Allison, on why they selected Boston University Mental Health Counseling & Behavioral Medicine Program for their graduate school studies.